Petrification
by bholley
Summary: An expansion of the time in the second book in which Hermione is petrified, and what would have gone on in her mind if she had been conscious.


Year 2, Hermione's Petrification with some altered details

Hermione rushed out of the library, warily holding a mirror before her. She had to find Harry and Ron and tell them what she'd found. She held the piece of paper clenched tight in her right hand, still regretting tearing the library book to get it, but with all the attacks, she was never sure who would be next. _Especially since I'm not a pureblood._ She thought dourly. She almost ran into the Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater. They both stumbled. Penelope looked with confusion at the mirror Hermione was carrying. For a split second, both girls saw in the reflection, a gigantic snake with enormous yellow eyes, then both collapsed to the ground all but dead. Hermione held on a second longer than the prefect, managing to secure the paper in her hand. The wand in her sleeve emitted a few sparks as her body slammed to the floor and then she felt no more.

Harry and Ron were very confused as to why Professor McGonagall was leading them toward the infirmary. Harry suspected that somebody else had been stricken and his worst fears were confirmed when the professor pulled back the curtain to reveal Hermione lying stiffly on the bed. Her eyes were open, but glassy and unseeing. A mark on her brow showed where she had evidently collapsed onto the hard stones. Neither of the boys understood the significance of the mirror that had been found near her body, and were promptly led away from their seemingly unconscious friend by the professor to the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione was, however, very much awake. Whatever had sparked from her wand had granted her more abilities than her fellow victims. She could hear and feel, but could not move so much as her eyes to close them. They had glossed over from the spell and she could only see blurred shapes moving about. She wished she could close them as their constant exposure hurt. Her head hurt too. She vaguely remembered hitting it on the floor after seeing the Basilisk, for that was what it was, in the mirror. With a wave of panic, she realized that Harry still didn't know about the monster. She could still feel the paper in her hand. How she wished Harry and Ron had looked down. She'd heard their voices, heard the shock and panic as they called her name, heard the professor lead them away. She could feel the paper poking out between her thumb and palm. She struggled to move, to loosen her fingers, to close her eyes, anything. No movement came. Frustration overwhelmed the girl and she began to cry, but no tears would come either. She felt like screaming. If the Basilisk got Harry and Ron, there would be no hope for Hogwarts unless she could be cured and warn Dumbledore. Alternating thoughts of panic and hopelessness circled round her head as Hermione drifted off into an uneasy sleep. Little did she know about Harry and Ron's adventures in the forest that night, nor about Dumbledore's removal. It was just as well. She would not have slept at all if she had known.

Hermione was awakened from a fitful slumber by the opening of the infirmary door. She heard Madam Pomfrey tell two people that it wouldn't do any good to talk to a Petrified person, as they couldn't hear. Hermione was almost furious. _Of course I can hear! _ She wanted to shout._ I can hear you all just fine… is that Harry? Ron?_ She wondered as she heard two people sit down at her bedside. She heard a sigh.

"I wonder if she did see the attacker, though?" Ron's voice cut through. "Because if he sneaked up on them all, no one will ever know…" _I will know! _She thought, willing them to understand. _Can either of you see the paper?_ _Is that Harry? _She hadn't heard him speak, but she felt a hand touch hers. The hand with the paper in it. Her heart leapt, even though it was not beating. One of them had found the paper!

"Try and get it out." Ron's voice whispered again, and she heard the scraping of a chair as another hand joined the first, trying to pull the paper from her clenched hand. She willed at the same time, to loosen her fingers. She worried that the paper might tear, leaving them with only a partial clue. Finally the paper slid from between her fingers. If she had been breathing, she would have breathed a sigh of relief. She heard a second voice, Harry. She listened as he figured it out. The Basilisk really was the missing part to the puzzle. She was as excited as they when, after a few moments, both boys rushed out of the infirmary, leaving her alone once more. She smiled on the inside. Now if only the boys could destroy the Basilisk without ending up like she did, maybe Hogwarts and non purebloods could survive.

The day passed ever so slowly. Nobody was being allowed into the infirmary anymore. Night fell and silence came, but Hermione could not sleep. She lay very still in the quiet, wondering if Ron and Harry had found the Chamber of Secrets. They seemed to know very closely where it might be. Suddenly there was a bang. The door flew open and footsteps came running to her bedside.

"Hermione!" A breathless voice said, one hand on hers, another on her shoulder. "We did it, thanks to you! The Basilisk is dead, and the… the heir was Voldemort in a sort of disguise! The mandrake juice is ready. Come on, wake up!" Harry gasped, and poured the potion into her partially opened mouth. She trembled, then began to spasm, coughing. Her eyes fell closed for a moment then snapped back open, bright once more, to look up into Harry's green eyes, which were full of concern.

"You solved it!"She gasped with her first lungful of air in two days and sat up. "You did it Harry!" She hugged him tightly with relief. Her heart thudded painfully as it settled back into a regular rhythm, causing her to grimace and cough. Around her, others were doing the same.

"There's a feast downstairs!" Harry exclaimed. "Come down and celebrate, and we'll tell you all about it." He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. She swayed slightly, but with a shake of her head, regained her balance and all but ran down the stairs, hand in hand with her friend, both grinning wildly.


End file.
